Wad cutting bullet and method of making same



D. B. wEs soN 2,008,571

WAD CUTTING BULLET AND METHOD OF MAKING SAME July 16, 1935.

Filed. April 5, 1934 INVENTOR fiawms ,5. 11 2600 6Z A-M ATTORNEYSPatented July 16, 1935 UNIT- vian rides,

WAD CUTTING BULLET AND ivm 'rnon or v f MAKING SAME Douglas B. Wesson,Longmeadow, Mass, assignor A 'to Smith & Wesson, Inc, Springfield, Mass,a. V eorporation of Massachusetts l ApplicationApril 5, 1934, SeriallNo.719,151

4 Claims: (c1. Sis-2.4)

, This invention relatest o improvements in what through. The usual formof bullet removes little or no material from the target, particularlyfinthe smallercalibers, merely bending the major portion of the materialoutwardly to form a ragged hole.. Generally cylindrical bullets with aright angled flange at their maximum diameter and a button-like head,have previously been proposed as a remedy, and have proved comparatively! satisfactory n the larger ,calibers. In small calibers',however, While these priorwad cutting bullets have madef clean holes inthe tar.- get,.they'have beensoerratic in their acc'uracy that they havenot been suitablelfor target'shootingh gw I havefound-that if the bulletis maintained in its normal 'shapeand anannular cutting fin is ,formedon the ogfivekat a point where the diameter of the fin will lie withinthe maximum diameter of the bullet, a clean cutting of the target willbe. obtained with-no effect upon the acprising, and I-believe that theexplanationis found in the distortion undergone by the bullet injitstravel thr'ough' the "barrel. Due to the reail) action of: the bullet sinertia to the force of the explosion thebullet'is compressed in length,and the ogive is shortened and its larger'portion made more nearly thesame size' as the cylindrical portion of the bullet. Thisof coursebringsthe fin out more nearly to the full diameter of the bullet,andtthus ,in correct position'to cut the target.

Werethe fin to be made initially of too largea diameter, it would bebrought forciblyinto contact with the barrel by the compression of thebullet, and its cuttingedge destroyed or blunted. .On the other hand, ifthe cutting fin is formed too far down on the ogive, the compression oftheticular nature of the ammunition to which'the' cutting fin. I

given to the bullet, and hence upon theultiinate position of. thecutting fin. No dimensionalrules canbe given, therefore, without knowingthe parinvention is to be applied.

The cutting fin' can if desired be formed upon the bullet during itsmanufacture; For several reasons, however, it is preferable toform thecutting fin immediately beforefiring. Each marksman has his own favoritebrand of ammunition, l0

and it isthereio're desirable to provide some method and apparatus bywhich he'may adapt that particular ammunition for'wad cutting. The

cutting fin employed in accordance with this 'beforethe timeof its use;and have provided for this purpose a portable apparatus which" can beemployed at the target range if desired, and

whichcan be adjusted to give the size'of fin best suited to thepreferences of the user. The invention will now be described in accordance with the accompanying drawing, in which curacy of fiightof thebullet. The fact that such 1 Fig. 1 is a side .elevation of aholding orchucking apparatus for the cartridge;

Fig. 2 is a sideelevation of the fin cutting part of the apparatus;

Fig. 3 is a section on line 33 of Fig. 1;; Fig. 4 is an end view,looking from the left in Fig.2; I a V Fig. 5'isa side view of acartridgethe bullet of which has been provided with a cutting fin in accordancewith this-invention;

Fig. 6 is a detail of the bullet removed from the a case; and

Fig. 7 is-adetail of the bullet-illustrating the 40 action of the bulletcompression inshifting the In'Figst5 and 6 the bullet ll] has areducedpor tion 50 by which it maybe fixed in the case i l in the usual way.The cutting fin iris formed as an annular projection or burr upon anintermediate portion of the ogive l3. As has been :stated above, thelocation of the cutting fin is preferably Within the maximum diameter ofthe bullet, here projected for reference as a dotted line Hi. When thebullet passesthrough the barrel it will have been somewhat compressed1ongitudinally, as shown in Fig. 7 by the elimination of the shoulder 50and the presence of rifiing marks throughout the length of the bullet;and

this will bring the burr l2 out nearlyjto the line H, as shown in Fig.7, without substantially changing its form. In the latter condition itstrikes the target,; the burr'cutting off the torn edges produced by thepuncturing action of the head it of the bullet. The action is noticeablygreater with increased velocity, probably on ac count of the greatereffect of the inertia of the paper edges in resisting a high speed blow.

The apparatus provided for forming the cut-.7 ting fins or burrs on thebullets is illustrated in It consists'of two parts, one for Figs. 1 to4.I holding the cartridge and the other for forming the fin. The cartridgeholding parts l6 has a hole 5! in one end of the same diameter as thecartridge. At the other end of the holding member I6 is a hole It oflarger diameter, extending deeply enough into the body of the'member Hito expose a portion of the ogive of the bullet A lateral slot .5 9 isformed in the member at the point where the case'ends, and'in this is aclamping slide 26"having a hole 2| slightly lar'ger'tl'ianthe hole IT..A screw 22 is threaded into the slide and straddles the walls of theslot, southat by tightening it the slide can be drawn laterally to clampthe case-and'bullet simultaneously in .the member H3. The member IE5 ispreferably knurled on its outer surface to facilitate its being. heldfirmly.

, The cutting tool shown in Figs. 3 and 4 has a body portion 25, alsoknurled on its outer surface,

- provided with a through hole 26; Into one end'of this holeslidesjthecuttingtool proper 2'l, held against rotation by a set 'screw 28extending into a keyway 29. A threaded shank30 extends from the cuttingtool, and is screwed'into'a nut 3| having a threaded hole 32. The 'nutis provided with ahead 33, preferably. graduated for cooperation with anindex mark on the body 25, and is held against longitudinal movement bya set screw 34 fitting into anannular groove 35 in the nut. The nutcanbeturned to regulate the extent to which the cutting tool projectsbeyond'the end 35 of the body, after whichi-tcan be clamped in adjustedposition by tightening the set screw 34 so that it bears against thebottomof its groove. The end of the cutting tool .is preferably madeconical, and is formed with a, central depression at which fits over theend of theogive of the bullet. If de sired teeth 4i may be formed in theconical portion of the tool. to assist the actionof the cutting edge43.

'In use a cartridge'is clamped in the holder it by turning the screw 22,the slide 253 engaging the bullet, and preferably both the, bulletfandthe case so as to prevent relative turning during the cutting. The shank21 of the cutting tool is then introduced into the hole 18 of ,thehold'eiyand as soon as the cutting edge 43 contacts with the bulletthe'tool is 'manually rotated to cause a circular furrowto be cut in theogive offthe bullet. Due tothe shape of the cutting tool a sharp burrwill be turned up at theouter side of thefurrow.

The depth of the furrow, and consequently the size of the burr, can beregulated by changing the amount which the cutting tool projects beyond"the shoulder 36.

cutting tool will sink into it readily until its- The bullet being soft,the

progress is arrested by contact of the shoulder 36 with the end oftheholder IS. The rim M of the case limits the position of the cartridge,and the shoulder 36 limits the ultimate positionjof the cutting tool, sothat an accurate control of the size of the fin l2 can be obtained byvarying the setting of head '33.

Instead of using a rotating cutting tool it is of course possible tostrike up the burr by direct pressure.

with for striking up an outstanding cutting fin on the ogive of thebullet.

. 12. A-devicefor' formingwad cutting bullets which comprises clampingmeans for holding a previously assembled cartridge, a 'cutting' toolcoacting therewith for striking up an outstanding cutting fin on theogive of the bullet, and means for adjusting positively the depth of cutgiven by said'tool.

,3, A device for forming wad cutting bullets which comprises clampingmeans for holding a previously'assernbled cartridge, said means beingformed with a recess into which the bullet-projects, a cutting toolfitting into said recess and formed to strike up an outstandingcuttingfin on theogive of the bullet, and a member'adjusta'ble on said cuttingtool and adapted to strike against the clamping means" to limit thedepth of cut given to the bullet. r

4; A device for forming wad cutting bullets which comprisesclamping'means for a previously assembled cartridge, said means beingformed with a recess into-which the bullet projects, a

cutting device having a bodyg'a tool slidable in the body and adapted toenter the recess in the clamping member; the end of the tool beingformed with. a bullet receiving recess and a circular cuttingedge, anadjusting member secured in thebody against longitudinal movement'andhaving screw threaded engagement with the tool to change its degree ofprojection from the end of the body and thereby the depth of itspenetration into the recess in the clamping member, and means forsecuring the adjusting member in adjusted position. 7

' DOUGLAS B. WESSON.

